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A Chinese life-cycle assessment using data collected at large battery factories estimates layered-oxide sodium-ion packs emit 56.8 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kWh to produce, 24.9% less than LFP packs. The result differs from a 2025 European study of cells, and neither comparison accounts for battery lifetime or emissions per unit of energy delivered.
A Chinese life-cycle assessment based on data collected at gigawatt-hour-scale factories estimates that layered-oxide sodium-ion battery packs produce 24.9% fewer manufacturing emissions than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) packs. The researchers calculate emissions of 56.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour for sodium-ion packs, compared with 75.5 kg for LFP, a finding that differs from a 2025 European study of battery cells.
The researchers used a cradle-to-gate assessment, covering raw materials and manufacturing through the point a product leaves the factory. They report that the sodium-ion pack’s total environmental impact was 27.3% lower than the LFP pack’s in their assessment. Those figures describe production impacts, not the emissions associated with operating a battery over its useful life.
For both chemistries, the study identifies manufacturing electricity as a major source of emissions, reflecting the carbon intensity of China’s power grid. The authors say sodium-ion producers could lower their footprint through process improvements and cleaner electricity. For LFP, they point to substituting raw materials and reducing material use as possible ways to cut impacts.
The paper, titled “Comparative life cycle assessment and carbon footprint of sodium-ion and Lithium Iron phosphate batteries,” was published in Environmental Impact Assessment Review. According to the report, the team collected inventory data on site from large Chinese battery manufacturers, then compared packs made with the two chemistries.
Manufacturing Data Could Shift Battery Comparisons
The result matters because manufacturing emissions are one part of battery climate impact and can inform sourcing and production choices as energy storage expands. Factory-level data from China may also give manufacturers and buyers a more direct view of production in a major battery-making market than estimates built from laboratory measurements or general databases.
But the study does not establish that sodium-ion batteries are lower-emitting across their full service life. Since its boundary ends at the factory gate, it does not account for cycle life or lifetime energy delivered. A battery that lasts longer or supplies more energy over time could change a comparison of total climate impact per unit of stored or delivered energy. The findings therefore speak to production under the study’s assumptions, not to an across-the-board environmental advantage in use.
Two Studies Reach Different Results
Earlier studies cited by the Chinese researchers, including work by Peters and colleagues in 2016 and Guo and colleagues in 2023, estimated sodium-ion emissions as slightly higher than those of lithium-ion batteries. The authors say those assessments relied on laboratory-scale data and default European databases, rather than inventories collected directly at Chinese factories.
A 2025 study by researchers at Fraunhofer and RWTH Aachen University used primary factory data but reached the opposite result for layered-oxide sodium-ion cells. It estimated cradle-to-gate emissions of 75 to 87 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kWh for sodium-ion cells, compared with 59 to 70 kg for LFP cells. Those values cannot be directly compared with the new study’s pack estimates because one measures cells and the other packs.
The new study and the 2025 European study both focus on layered-oxide cathodes. Sodium-ion batteries can also use other cathode materials. The source report notes that HiNa Battery uses layered oxides, while Hithium’s 785 Ah storage cell uses a sodium iron pyrophosphate cathode, which falls outside the specific chemistry comparison described here.
“Sodium-ion’s footprint can fall further through process optimization and cleaner power.”
— The Chinese study’s researchers, as summarized by Energy Storage
Lifetime Emissions Remain Unmeasured
The reported figures do not show which chemistry has lower emissions per unit of energy delivered over a battery’s lifetime. The assessment stops at the factory gate, so it does not include cycle life, operation, or what happens at end of life. It is also unclear from the source report how results would change across different factories, electricity supplies, pack designs, or sodium-ion cathode types.
The researchers modeled a scenario in which wider sodium-ion adoption could avoid 147 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent in 2035. The source report does not provide enough detail about the scenario’s assumptions or comparison baseline to treat that figure as a forecast. It should be read as a modeled result, not an observed reduction or a guaranteed outcome.
Broader Data Needed for Comparison
The next step for readers and battery buyers is to compare assessments with matching boundaries, product units and assumptions. Further factory data across regions and production methods, alongside measurements of cycle life and lifetime energy delivery, would help show whether the manufacturing difference persists over battery use.
The source report does not identify a specific follow-up study or timetable. For now, the Chinese paper adds factory-based evidence about layered-oxide pack production, while leaving open how its estimates translate to other cathode chemistries and full-life climate performance.
Key Questions
How much lower are the estimated emissions for sodium-ion packs?
The Chinese study estimates 56.8 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kWh for sodium-ion pack production, 24.9% below the 75.5 kg estimated for LFP packs. These are cradle-to-gate manufacturing figures.
Why does this result differ from the 2025 European study?
The European study estimated higher emissions for sodium-ion cells than for LFP cells. The new study examines packs rather than cells; the studies also use different data and system boundaries, so their figures are not directly comparable.
Does the study show sodium-ion batteries are cleaner over their whole life?
No. The assessment ends at the factory gate and does not account for cycle life or lifetime energy delivered. It compares manufacturing impacts, not emissions across the batteries’ full service lives.
Do the findings cover every sodium-ion battery design?
No. The comparison covers layered-oxide cathodes. Sodium-ion batteries using other cathode materials, including sodium iron pyrophosphate, are outside the chemistry comparison described in the report.
Source: rss
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